1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a neck support. More specifically, the invention is a cervical neck support for protecting the necks and spines of children while riding in a car or baby carrier.
2. Description of Related Art
Various neck supports have been devised for supporting the necks of adults and children. However, the problem is that most of these supports fail to provide the stability and needed structural support for protecting the neck and spinal cord of children; moreover, such braces should be simple to use and require minimal use of fasteners for attachment to the user. Another capability lacking with conventional neck supports is that they are not readily attachable to car seats or carrying carriages as disclosed herein.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,458 issued to Fiore discloses a cervical support pillow with a semi-circular cut-out portion extending from the top edge to the central portion of the pillow for use by adults. The pillow involves complex positioning orientations about the head and neck. One position in particular is a sandwich type orientation about the head and neck, which if similarly used on children could cause suffocation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,691 issued to Monti et al. discloses a wedge shaped pillow segment with fasteners for joining the neck support under the chin of a user. This method of attachment usually creates a certain level of discomfort for the user, and in the case of children, they are usually prone to remove the device. Another disadvantage of this type of support is that bodily and other fluids soiling the device makes removing it distasteful. The instant invention, however, does not suffer these particular problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,429 issued to Genis discloses a therapeutic head and neck-rest which is filled with a liquid at a suitable temperature. The structure and intended purpose of this therapeutic rest pillow is completely different and teaches away from the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,472 issued to Yin discloses a infant head and neck support pillow in a flat rectangular shape. The structure of the pillow is not as robust as that of the instant invention, and can be quite cumbersome since it is not capable of being fastened directly to a car seat or similar apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,351 issued to Ive discloses an infant support pad with an adjustable pillow which provides lateral stability of the infant's head and neck. The pad can be adjusted to adapt to an increase in the infants size. The problem with this device, however is that if the infant is inappropriately placed in the bay carriage when the head support is secured, one risks reinforcing an otherwise inappropriate head and neck position. This type of mistake is common with the use of infant support pads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,445 issued to Obaidi discloses a head and neck protector for children which includes a flexible planar back member with mid and lower torso straps for securing the user. There is no disclosure for a structural support for the head and neck as taught by the invention herein described.
The cervical neck support of the instant invention is different from the prior and related art, in that it provides sturdy and comfortable head and neck support for children, with the capability of being readily attachable to car seats or similar devices without cumbersome attachments, due to the unnecessary use of fasteners. Thus, none of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.